This invention relates generally to aerosol carbonators, and more particularly concerns apparatus for charging a fluid, such as an alcohol-based fluid, with an aerosol propellant, such as carbon dioxide.
Aerosol containers for dispensing fluid such as perfumes, cleaners, and other products have become so important in today's economy as to be almost omnipresent. At present, a majority of these products include a valved can in which is contained the product and a chlorofluorocarbon propellant.
Recent evidence indicates that these chlorofluorocarbon propellants, when discharged into the atmosphere by using the aerosol spray cans, may alter the amount of ozone present in the earth's atmosphere and, consequently, may cause environmentally unacceptable effects. In this regard, the U.S. Federal Government and foreign nations have begun to pose regulations and laws to restrict the use of chlorofluorocarbons as aerosol propellants in the future. The aerosol industry has, therefore, begun a search for alternate propelling agents.
One such agent which shows promising characteristics is carbon dioxide. Apparatus for charging fluids such as alcohol-based fluids with a carbon dioxide propellant, and for emplacing this fluid and charges of gas within containers has recently meet with great commercial interest.
In high-volume production of charged cans, it is important to provide the charged product at a given pressure and in quantities sufficient to supply rapidly operating can filler devices. It is also important that the apparatus which charges the fluid with the propellant be able to quickly accommodate temporary halts in container filler line operation, resumption of filler operations, or charges in filling line speeds. These accommodations are not easy to make, for the container filling apparatus normally operates at high speed, and requires great quantities of product for the filling operation. Should filling operations suddenly stop, however, the fluid-propellant-charging apparatus must very rapidly switch from high output to no output without overburdening the now-stopped filler apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,324 to Sokol describes several elements of an apparatus for filling aerosol dispensers, but the apparatus is large, complex, expensive, and does not lend itself to high-speed but variable-rate operations.
It is accordingly the general object of the present invention to provide an aerosol carbonator system which can accommodate the widely varying liquid flow demands of a modern, high-speed container filler device operation.
Another object is to provide such apparatus in a relatively compact form so as to permit its installation in packaging plants of even restricted operating space.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawing. Throughout this drawing, like reference numerals refer to like parts.